Baroness Sayeeda Warsi is a lawyer, author, businesswoman, philanthropist and member of the House of Lords. She was Britain’s first Muslim Cabinet Minister; Chairman of the Conservative party and a Senior Minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Daughter of an immigrant mill worker, Sayeeda Warsi rose to become an... Read more
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi is a lawyer, author, businesswoman, philanthropist and member of the House of Lords. She was Britain’s first Muslim Cabinet Minister; Chairman of the Conservative party and a Senior Minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Daughter of an immigrant mill worker, Sayeeda Warsi rose to become an Advisor to the Leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, in 2004, the youngest peer in the House of Lords, aged 36, in 2007 and Britain’s first Muslim Cabinet Minister in 2010.
A campaigner on equalities and religious freedom in 2007 she travelled to Sudan and famously helped to secure the release of the British teacher Gillian Gibbons who was on trial for blasphemy.
The iconic images of her in 2010 on the steps of No 10 Downing Street in a shalwar kameez (a traditional ethnic outfit) were beamed around the world as she was appointed as Chairman of the Conservative Party – the first Asian to chair a major British political party.
Warsi has been a major driver of four start-up businesses; two in the service sector and two in manufacturing, all of which developed into vibrant and successful SMEs. In Government she led the campaign to ensure that Britain became the first western country to issue a Sukuk (Islamic bond), which was issued in 2014. She also Chaired the Global Islamic Finance & Investment Group.
Sayeeda Warsi is the Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Bolton, an advisor at Georgetown University Washington D.C, a member of the International Advisory Board on FORB, University of Notre Dame.
She is the author of the newly released, Muslims Don’t Matter, an incisive polemic on the rise of Islamophobia, and The Enemy Within, a provocative and brutally honest account of the relationship between Islam and Britain.
She is Co Presenter of the political reality show Make Me Prime Minister as well as being a regular TV presenter, commentator and documentary maker. In 2024, Sayeeda launched her own award nominated podcast with David Baddiel, A Muslim and A Jew Go There, engaging in open and meaningful dialog about hot button geopolitical and cultural issues affecting British Muslims and Jews.
Sayeeda Warsi is the Founder of the Savayra Foundation UK, a women’s empowerment charity with a focus on social mobility and gender equality.